If football symbolizes the all-American sport then in music, nothing can boast of a greater American heritage than bluegrass music. From its earliest roots in the rural areas during the 1940′s to the eclectic range of sub-genres it boasts of today, bluegrass music is ultimately about self-expression, which is constantly displayed by its trademark instrumental solos.
The Bluegrass Instruments. One of the things that greatly distinguishes bluegrass music from all other genres and even its closest cousins, country and mountain music, bluegrass is mostly played with the use of acoustic and stringed musical instruments.
A typical bluegrass band would have members playing the fiddle (most varieties are considered acceptable), the acoustic guitar and upright bass, the mandolin, and the five-string banjo. The two last instruments may have, in fact, enjoyed increased popularity primarily due to its involvement in creating bluegrass music. Another increasingly common instrument used for bluegrass music, albeit quite different from the rest, is the resonator guitar, which may be more popularly referred to its brand name, Dobro.